This sausage party has it all wrong. The legislative process isn't a grocery list that you check off at random. There's steps involved. You draft it, read it, weigh its constitutional merits, and then pass it; you don't pass it, then draft it, then pass it again, then read it, then 11 months later weigh its constitutional merits. I need every swingin' dick on this committee to get their shit together. That includes you, Feinstein.

dont tread 2012 said... Let the wonderful unraveling begin. I do hope that Pelosi Galore has a good seat.

That's all that Nancy has. Given the basic rules of the House, particularly after the way she knocked a lot of those rules around, it's unlikely that she has much impact moving forward on anything there. The Dems made a mistake in not electing Hoyer. He seemed to be the adult the last few years and could have tried mending fences insead of burning them.

I think they deliberately drafted an unconstitutional bill, betting that the courts would deem it "too big to fail"

I don't see it as intentional, rather more negligent. Constitutionality just wasn't a priority for the Dems rushing to get the bill passed. Getting enough of the Democratic fence sitters to support the bill was what was consuming them.

It is humorous that they are now worrying about it. And, what will they do if they decide that it is unconstitutional? Likely nothing.

But, I wouldn't expect that. The committee membership is stacked enough in the Democrats' favor (despite only have a 53/47 advantage in the Senate) that the results are forgone - the committee, likely on close to partisan lines, will determine that the bill they passed a year before was Constitutional. The merits of the debate are irrelevant. Politics are what count.

Which brings me to what I think the likely reason for the hearings - to counter Judge Vinson (and before him, Judge Hudson). Remember, most of the Democrats on the committee voted for the bill. The same Democrats who want us all to believe that they are disinterested in their attempt to find the truth here.

Yes, I am alleging a conflict of interest, but a mild one by Washington, D.C. standards. Clearly not as bad as Jamie Goelick on the 9/11 Commission, and likely not as bad as trusting Frank and Dodd to overhaul the mess they made of the housing and mortgage loan market.

This sausage party has it all wrong. The legislative process isn't a grocery list that you check off at random. There's steps involved. You draft it, read it, weigh its constitutional merits, and then pass it; you don't pass it, then draft it, then pass it again, then read it, then 11 months later weigh its constitutional merits. I need every swingin' dick on this committee to get their shit together. That includes you, Feinstein.

Shoving it down our throats was the idea. Too bad it didn't work out for them!

"That's the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that leads to Tuscon shootings."

Fuck you.

The inflammatory acts that leads to Tuscon style shootings was the ramming down the throats of America of a corrupt law designed to line the pockets of the Democrat Party.

The brining of union thugs to town hall meetings.

The beatings of people who spoke out.

The violence and intimidation that has become part and parcel of every Democrat rally.

Visiting people's homes to harass them. Bringing them in by the union busload.

That's the sort of shit that leads to Tuscon-style shootings.

So go fuck yourself.

You will not be shutting down free speech here motherfucker. I don't really care how many Congress people get shot in their faces by the whackjobs they are dismissive to at their town halls and meet and greets ... that is never a reason to silence critics of unconstitutional laws passed by corrupt Democrats.

Whether they be Democrats or Republicans ... nobody can feel good that 51 Senators today defied their oaths of office and voted to keep in place a law that has been twice ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

It is infamy. It is unbelieveable to me that this could occur in this nation. This sort of utter lawlessness.

It is time to cleanse the Senate of these Democrats and if you are a patriot then you must today feel saddened by the duty you are now required to perform ... whether you be Democrat, Republican, Independent or Tea Party.

Our Senate is now beyond the reach of the Constitution and must be reigned in or America is done for.

Fen and Hayden are both right in a way. Remember, there was such a rush to shove it through in the lame-duck session that they didn't dare send it to a conference committee to fix the "severability" problem in the limited time avail as they thought the bill would unravel, so they had to go with the bill as is. But I do believe that they felt secure in this approach and their minds undoubtedly assuaged by their belief that no court would DARE to overturn the handiwork of the Obamassiah "'cause the Supreme Court reads the election returns," and at that stage their hubris and total contempt for their opponents was still at flood stage. They REALLY DID, I'm sure in my heart of hearts, believe in *their* "heart of hearts" it "too big to fail."

Severability is really a non issue. Even if the bill had it incorporated it would be dead in it's tracks if the mandates were held unconstitutional but the rest of the bill is left in tact.

If the bill was left in place minus the mandate then the insurance company would be suing under the takings clause. Then there is the issue of the mandates on the states, even though judge Vinson ruled against the states on that portion of the suit, it is unclear whether or not the states would appeal that portion of the ruling. The bill is a three legged stool that needs all three legs to stand on, with two it falls.

Is it not so that, absent a stay of Judge Vinson's decision, it is now unlawful to implement any of the provisions of the Health Care Act? Is the administration not now in contempt of the law? What on earth am I missing? Why isn't somebody going to jail?

The reason nobody is going to jail is because the cops are on THEIR SIDE. The Fraternal Order of Police is one of the nation's largest unions and the police union is one of the largest recipients of your income.

That's right ... they have their hand in your pocket.

Beat cops in Boston are making $200,000 a year. It's sickening.

You think they're going to arrest the crooked politicians who "negotiated" these obscene salaries with them?

The cops have been bought off - bribed with fat salaries, complete benefits packages and even larger lifetime pensions ... most in the 7-figures.

Don't expect these criminals to be arrested. They're the cops best friends.

The corruption rampant amongst our "elite" will have to be eliminated some other way.

If you misconstrue what's happening - as most do, whether by (Liberals) blaming conservatives and/or "uncivil" language, or (Conservatives) pooh-poohing NewAge within our culture - then you allow it to continue unabated. (It's like someone repeatedly saying, "Ooh, look at that!" and every time you do, they clock you in the jaw. But - though it keeps happening over and over again - your dumb ass never catches on.) It's a really depressing phenomena to behold.

A federal court has held the Department of the Interior in contempt of court for willfully violating its stay of their ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

ABCNews Reports:U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman chided the department for its "dismissive conduct" after he overturned the agency's decision to halt any new permits for deepwater projects and suspend drilling on 33 exploratory wells after the Deepwater Horizon blast, which killed 11 workers and triggered the massive spill. After Feldman overturned the government's moratorium in June, the agency issued a second nearly identical suspension.

A judge ordered them to cease and desist because they are violating the law and the United States Department of the Interior told this judge to go fuck himself.

They do not intend to obey the law.

The entire Democrat Party is bent on imposing its will on the American people and they're not going to let courts or justice or the U.S. Constitution stop them.

They don't care about laws or courts because they are criminals.

They are acting outside the law and outside the Constitution. We owe these people nothing, not least our allegiance or obedience.

I don't think you're being fair. The current fuss over "action" vs. "inaction" is fun, but I think liberals were within their rights to have thought that they won that battle a while ago, when the Commerce Clause was extended to include stuff it obviously didn't include. Conservatives are now reduced to arguments ad absurdum: I don't quite see anything in the Constitution about action vs. inaction, but logically I can prove that there has to be a line somewhere, so that must be it...